Dogma are an internationally based metal and rock band, releasing their self titled debut album in 2023.
Featuring a highly religious visual theme – nuns to be precise – are Dogma a band? A cult? Or a way of life? All three methinks, for the band, are four women who have adopted the monikers of powerful female entities – Lilith (vocals), Lamia (guitar), Nixe (bass), and Abrahel (drums). And in all honesty, I don’t think the foursome are real nuns – the traditional dress for a nun. commonly known as a habit, is a long flowing dress that covers the body from head to toe. Whereas Dogma, are wearing the kinda risqué habits you’d find among the lingerie section of high street retailer Ann Summers – and boy do they look fucking foxy! And if the habit is seen as uniform, then Dogma‘s habits are definitely nonuniform! Now I didn’t take much interest in religion growing up – although I do know the basics of the bible – and I’m in no way religious these days, but I reckon it’s a fair comment when I say these four women from, err, well, actually no-one knows where, but these four women can come and convert me!
With their striking good looks and fabulous curves, surely it’s every man’s dream to be seduced by four scantily clad women – I know it’s (now) one of mine! The band ooze sensuality for forty five innuendo laden minutes, with every listener, fan and follower dribbling profusely as each song passes on by – have you seen the band’s provocative video for ‘Carnal Liberation’ yet! Click here to watch – it’s red hot! And I don’t just mean the four women either, the music is red hot too! The foursome from, oh yeah that’s right – we don’t know! In all the information I received with the album, and further research via the internet, I was unable to find which city let alone which country Dogma hails from! That’s why I’ve stated the band are “internationally based” – although they could as easily be from Nuneaton in the west midlands of England (see what I did there…NUN-eaton), as they could be from Mars or Venus. Either way, I’m NUN-the-wiser where the band are from, so I’ll shelve my research for now and forge ahead with reviewing the band’s music…
…music that “takes aim at religious hypocrites and oppressive systems, summoning a cult of like-minded iconoclasts with songs of joyous rebellion” – music that’s a sparkling blend of heavy metal and hard rock. So without further ado, let’s lift the veil on Dogma, and see – or rather hear, what the band is all about. Album opener ‘Forbidden Zone’, is an atmospheric cacophony of symphonic tinged rock come metal, hitting hard and shuddering the ground. For those old enough to remember the glorious eighties, ‘Forbidden Zone’ melds the decades pop culture with the hard-rocking nature of bands such as Vixen, Ratt, Femme Fatale and Cinderella. A pulsating opener full of infectious hooks and melodies, the dreamy Dogma romps on with the old school metaller ‘Feel The Zeal’ – planting both feet firmly on the monitor as it gently gallops forth with all the gusto of traditional heavy metal. And after just two songs in, ‘Dogma’ has perched itself right in the gap between the genres of hard rock and heavy metal – two of my three favourite styles of music ever (the other being thrash).
With a major upturn in the bombastic nature of the album, ‘My First Peak’ hits harder than either of the two previous songs, oozing sensuality in abundance. The vocal delivery of lead singer Lilith is full of sass and sexiness, causing various body parts to twitch uncontrollably! Over the years I’ve lost count of the number of female singers that possess a voice so sexy it turns me on – with the queen of metal Doro my all time desire. And now, in the alluring shape of Lilith and her three nubile cohorts from, err, somewhere in the world, I have a brand new desire to enjoy! And I don’t just mean their music – ‘Made Her Mine’ injecting a blistering change of pace. The headbangers of the world are gonna love this one, Dogma is hitting top speed to deliver a crushing display of headbang ability. And coupled with the exquisite sound and feel of power metal, ‘Made Her Mine’ is gonna widen the bands audience immeasurably! ‘Dogma’ began brilliantly, and has just gotten better and better song by song, with ‘Carnal Liberation’ moving the atmosphere to a much hotter, sexual plane! The galloping traditional metal feel is still very much in evidence, the levels of oomph and energy rocketing right through the fucking roof! And don’t get me started on what Lilith’s sultry voice is doing to my sweet spot!
A sweet spot that’s growing bigger and bigger with every song that passes by, the album slows to a mid-tempo stroll for the tantalising ‘Free Yourself’, switching to a mighty thumper, knocking listeners into next week with a bombastic barrage of heavy hitting hard rock. And the mid song jazz style breakdown is simply irresistible! Is there nothing these convent cuties can’t do? Apparently not, the fit foursome landing firmly and squarely in hard rock territory owned by legendary American hard rocking bands such as Van Halen, Poison and the awesome Lita Ford – ‘Bare To The Bones’ a bouncy party anthem to plant smiles a mile wide on the faces of every single listener, fan and follower in the world. The band are at their most energetic here, electrifying the airways with a pulsating brand of metal edged rock – every pleasure zone around my entire body tingling with excitement, not to mention a throbbing sensation that’s just getting louder and louder! So turning the volume up, Lilith’s voice across the opening to ‘Make Us Proud’ is simply mesmerising, turning my legs to jelly and heart to mush – and if the band keep on stimulating me like this, I ain’t gonna be held responsible for what may arise!
But suffice it to say, I’m giving a nature’s thumbs up to the incredibly fanciable foursome from somewhere in my dreams tonight (and every night for quite some time to come). And should the band feel like doing some missionary work – I’ll be more than happy to submit! In fact, it’ll be my immense pleasure – the album roaring on with the barnstorming ‘Pleasure From Pain’ resurrecting the mighty oomph from earlier. The heavy pounding, hard rocking nature of ‘Pleasure From Pain’ is actually much heavier than anything heard previously, Dogma maintaining their emphatic entrance into the world of metal and rock. An entrance that’s been nothing short of stunning, ‘Father I Have Sinned’ blending AOR into the band’s metal and rock roots! The band’s sound really is a conundrum, featuring such a wide array of musical styles it’s been impossible to pigeon-hole the band into just the one genre of music! Bringing ‘Dogma’ to a close, ‘The Dark Messiah’ returns the symphonic rock feel of the album’s opener, once again the voice of Lilith sending shivers right through me, my arousal level standing at its tallest since the album began! What a rush the last forty-five minutes have been, the seductive foursome from, err, I still don’t actually know, have stunned and impressed greatly with eleven heavy-hitting and immediately likeable songs – I can’t wait to be inundated with more, much more.
Overall, a feisty and flirtatious heavy-hitting album of infectious and smile-inducing hard rock come heavy metal.
TRACKLIST
Forbidden Zone
Feel The Zeal
My First Peak
Made Her Mine
Carnal Liberation
Free Yourself
Bare To The Bones
Make Us Proud
Pleasure From Pain
Father I Have Sinned
The Dark Messiah
Dogma: Facebook
Release Year: 2023
Label: MNRK Heavy
Category: Album
Country: International
Reviewed by Iron Mathew for Frenzy Fire and Metal-Roos.
